The Sweetest Kill: A Young Adult Paranormal (5 page)

“Just as well. So next week, what day are you thinking?”

After scheduling an appointment for next week, Marie gave me a cherry flavored sucker for the walk home. Savoring the taste of it, I slip on my jacket as I leave down the stairs. I zip up my jacket and push the doors open, just in time for the cold winter wind to hit me in the face. Putting on my mittens and hat, I start making my way home while trying to process all the new information.

He struck again. Another young woman and this one followed the last victim much sooner than before. I pull the sucker from my mouth and lick my cherry stained lips. The detective did say he was circling the downtown nightclub area. Maybe that’s a good place to find him, I think. Of course, there’s just one problem. I hate dancing.

Sticking the sucker back in my mouth, I let the flavor settle on my tongue as I formulate a plan.

*   *   *

Standing in my bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror and fidget with the neck of my shirt. This is probably the only outfit I own that doesn’t look like someone’s grandmother was buried in it. My mother bought it for me for my twenty-first birthday for ‘going-out” occasions, but I only wore it once.

It’s a red bandage skirt that cuts off about mid-thigh with a loose white tank top. Of course, with my arms in the condition they’re in, I have to throw a baggy black and white flannel button over it. Since it’s also winter, I add some tights, so my legs don’t fall off on the walk there. I haven’t put any makeup on. This is mostly due to the fact that I don’t own any.

Brushing my hair back from my face, I lean against the sink as I stare into my reflection. Like what Dr. Reynolds said, I don’t know if I want to die, or if I just want the pain to end. My motivation is unclear, even to me, despite all this fantasizing. I can’t answer his question. Because in truth, it doesn’t matter to me. No matter what I choose, I know that I’m tired of waiting for all this to just go away in time. I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of having to pretend. In the end, it's now or never, and I choose now.

Epiphany

The downtown scene is lively. It’s one of the reasons the city has a high population of young people. The University is another equally good, but less exciting reason. As I move closer to the string of clubs and bars, I can feel my heart beat speed up in my chest.

Lights flash in my face, noises fill my ears, and the limited space between bodies is already overwhelming. I’m not even inside the club yet and there is too much going on. I check out the growing waiting line outside the door, and feel my hands start to shake. I can’t do this. I can’t be like these people. Turning on a heel, I start walking back towards my apartment when I hear a voice call out to me.

“Shoshanna!” Someone yells but I don’t stop walking. A hand grabs my shoulder and I panic. Spinning around, I move quickly out from under someone’s hold, only to feel my eyes widen when I see who it is.

“Melanie?”

She grins widely as she looks over me, “You look so cute! I didn’t know you came to these kind of places!”

“I-I don’t usually.”

Melanie looks…well, exactly how I would expect her to look, attractive. Her hair is perfectly straight and parted in the middle to frame her heart shaped face, while her makeup is perfectly put together. Every time she blinks, her eyelids sparkle in the neon lights that diverts your attention to the clear, blue color of her eyes. Despite the cold, she’s dressed in a short white dress and a black leather jacket with black ankle boots on her feet.

“Well, do you want to come in with us?” She prompts when I don’t come up with idle chitchat.

“I don’t want to intrude.”

She waves a dismissive hand, still grinning. “Are you kidding? Trevor is dying to meet you! I talk about you all the time and I think he’s starting to assume that I’ve been making you up.” She says the last bit with a laugh, before taking a step towards me with what I think is her begging face, “Please, come with us? It’ll be so fun.”

I open my mouth to decline, but someone bumps into my shoulder, distracting me. I glance back at the person who bumped into me, but I can’t see him clearly, what I see doesn’t make any sense at all. Red eyes meet mine for only a second, before he turns his face back forward. I feel like my heart is in my throat and I have a hard time catching my breath. His eyes couldn’t be red, that’s impossible. It had to be contacts or something.

“What an asshole,” Melanie gasps before touching my shoulder, “Are you okay?”

I flinch back from her touch and force a small smile, “I’m okay. Just a little overwhelmed. I’ve never been to a club before.”

“Really?”

I hum a yes and run a shaky hand through my hair. Shivering, I frown at the line, “Seems like a long wait.”

“Not really. My cousin is actually the bouncer. He lets me in all the time.”

I sigh and chew my lower lip. I don’t want to go in there but what choice do I have? There’s a high chance that the guy I’m looking for is in there lurking around. Looking over the nearby club again, I take a deep cleansing breath and try to muster up any courage I may have. Forcing one of my best and hopefully less creepy smiles, I decide to try.

“Well we don’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting any longer do we?”

Melanie’s whole face lights up, as she claps her hands with glee, “Oh my god! This is going to be so fun!”

Grabbing my hand, she starts to drag me back towards the club. She keeps talking about something, but I’ve already tuned her out. A guy standing near the front of the line must have heard her though, because he turns around and grins at us as we approach. He’s an average looking guy with light brown skin, black buzz cut hair, and very beautiful light green eyes. His full lips turn up farther at the ends, as he turns his gaze to me. I try to find a word to describe the color of his eyes, when Melanie starts to introduce us.

“Trevor, this is Shoshanna from work. Shoshanna, this is my boyfriend, Trevor,” She says with a gesture in each of our directions before smacking his shoulder, “See? I told you she was real.”

He smiles and rolls his eyes before offering me his hand, “Hi. Nice to finally meet you.”

I eye his hand but can’t think of a polite way to avoid touching him. So, with much reluctance, I take his hand in mine, “You, as well.”

I quickly take my hand back and tuck both my arms against my chest. Trevor frowns at me a little, but quickly collects himself as he turns to Melanie, “Finally annoyed her enough to come and join us?”

Melanie bristles a little, “Actually, no. She was just wondering around when I spotted her. She would have caved eventually though. Right, Shoshanna?”

I nod and give a small smile. I really don’t have much else to say to that. Besides, I’m a bit distracted. The idea that he could be here, in this very club, is making me anxious. I want to find him and just get this over with. The longer I continue this mingling façade, the quicker I want to end it. This isn’t my place. These aren’t my people. The urge to bolt is becoming stronger, the longer I stand out here. So with obvious impatience, I decide to get the ball rolling.

“It’s cold.” I murmur quietly, “Should we head in?”

“Of course!” Melanie chirps before turning to Trevor, “This is her first time in a club.”

“Really?” He asks with a kind smile in my direction, “Well, I think you’ll like it. It’s easy to lose yourself in a place like this.”

I blink at him. Am I that obvious?

“I’m sure I will.” I mumble as I move past him to follow Melanie towards the front of the line. The bouncer is a large man in his mid-thirties with short light brown hair and matching brown eyes. He has a tattoo on his neck that catches my eye. Is that a rose or a skull? It’s hard to tell in this lighting.

“Thanks Pete!” Melanie yells before grabbing my hand again to lead me in, with Trevor trailing us.

My eyes widen at the sight before me. This place reminds me of a modern interpretation of an ancient Roman party. Half-dressed people of all sexes lure each other into dancing, drinking, or even hooking up in various places in the building. The lighting is sparse and the music is loud enough to make my teeth rattle with every thump of the bass. Trevor was right about one thing, one could definitely lose themselves in a place like this.

“Isn’t this great!” Melanie yells in my ear as she starts to sway a little to the music.

I nod, still wide eyed before swallowing thickly. To be honest, the scene is intimidating. A nearby couple momentarily grabs my attention as they passionately make out with each other. I turn away when the guy’s hand disappears under the hem of her dress. I feel my cheeks redden. I don’t think I could ever let anyone that close to me, let alone let someone touch me like that.

“Drink?” Trevor yells over the music at me as he takes our jackets from us.

I shake my head, but Melanie orders herself a drink. I continue to scan over the area, looking for someone matching the description on the news. But it’s hard, there’s a lot of dark haired, white males in the building.

“Here try this!” Melanie yells and hands me her drink. I take it from her and feel the burn of the alcohol in my throat, as I swallow it along with a citrusy aftertaste. Making a face, I pass it back to her making her laugh, “Not your thing?”

I shake my head and cough a little. That’s incredibly strong.

“Do you want to dance?” She asks after a few minutes.

“I…“

“There’s a guy staring at you!” She tells me, cutting me off. Nodding in the direction behind me, I turn around to see a sinewy blonde looking at me with a smirk. When he sees me looking at him, his smile only widens.

I look away hastily and clench my hands into fists when I see him start to approach. My nails bury themselves into my palms and the pain of it keeps me from running in the opposite direction. Glancing at Melanie, I see her looking at me with concern and that only makes me more anxious. I don’t like that look, especially on someone who already likes to bury her nose in my business, enough as it is. 

“Hey!”

I jump back at the loud voice in my ear and a hand steadies me on the small of my back. I move away from it and look up into a pair of amused, dark colored eyes. He’s much more attractive up close, but he’s still not my type. Do I even have a type? I think back on all my ex-crushes. No, I don’t really have a type. But if I did, this guy would not be it.

“Hi.” Melanie answers for me, “What’s your name?”

“Corey.”

“Hi Corey, I’m Mel and this is Shoshanna.” She says effortlessly with a sweeping gesture towards me.

Corey’s dark eyes land on me and he smirks, “Hey. I saw you over there. I was wondering if you wanted to dance.”

I shake my head and am about to answer, but Melanie cuts me off, “She’d love to, wouldn’t you Shoshanna?”

“I...“

“Great.” Corey grins. “I’m not much of a dancer, but I’d be willing to try.”

Corey grabs my hand and gently leads me onto the dance floor. I don’t dance. Maybe, when I was little, and mom tried to stick me in ballet but that was even short-lived. Corey stands behind me and wraps a hand around my waist, making me tense. I don’t know what to do, so I try to get a hint from the other couples. I look away quickly though because it looks too intimate. I feel like I’m intruding just watching them, and my cheeks heat at what it reminds me of.

“Just move your hips a little.” Corey instructs loudly in my ear and I grit my teeth. I really don’t like his hand on my stomach and even more so when he starts to grind against my behind. Still, I try to fit in and move my hips a little.

I’m actually getting into it a little, until he kisses my neck. I immediately pull his arms off me and push myself away from him. I don’t acknowledge him calling after me as I walk away. Moving through the gyrating crowd of patrons, I try to find a place I can catch my breath. Hands, so many hands touch me, caress me, and leave me feeling like I’m going to be sick. I can’t escape. Because every time I flinch away, I’m pushed into another body.

I need air and I need it now.

Pushing my way through the crowd, I spot the bright red exit sign a long way away. I focus on it like it’s the light at the end of the tunnel, and try to get to it as fast as I can. My breathing is nearly in pants and my whole body is shaking with nerves. When I reach the end of the crowd, I rush for the door and push it open. When the cold air hits my overheated face, I take in a few sharp intakes of air.

I lean against one of the brick walls at the opening of the outside alleyway, and pull my flannel over shirt tighter against my body. Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I bend over, trying to stop the bile rising in my throat. The feeling of all the disgusting hands on me, plays over and over in my head, and I gag a little in my mouth.

A muffled scream gets my attention, and I look around trying to find out where the noise is coming from. I hear it again and I’m surprised as it seems to be close to me. Standing up, I skim my hand against the brick. I can’t see much as I walk a little deeper into the alley. It’s dark, but there’s a muted light given off by one red naked light bulb outside the club’s another back exit.

Squinting, I see a man dressed in dark clothes with a woman in his arms. She’s easier to see and I can make out her features, since she’s the one facing me. She has long black hair, which is messy, and her dark eyes are wide as she looks over his shoulder at me. Her mocha-skinned hands are like claws, as she clings to his covered arms. Her long red nails dig into the fabric of his jacket, as she attempts to hold herself up. She looks scared but also blissful, which is confusing.

Suddenly, her eyes seem to finally register me. Her darkly painted lips part and widen into a quiet scream. Now, I really see the fear and realize this isn’t just some couple’s embrace. I’m frozen in my spot. I don’t know what to do, but I know that something should be done. Parting my lips, I must have done something because the man suddenly stills.

Slowly, he detaches himself from her form and turns his head in my direction. I feel my stomach drop to my toes, as glowing red eyes meet mine. I notice long pointed fangs marred with blood, as he bares his teeth at me. I feel my mind begin to reel. An impossible word pops into my head but I push it away quickly. They don’t exist and even if they did, what would they be doing here of all places?

Despite my denial, it becomes harder to push away the theory, when my eyes see blood staining his chin as well. I can’t seem to look away from his eyes and the longer I look, the longer he stares back. He seems to snap out of it though when the woman in his arms begins to struggle. When she attempts to scream, he quickly snaps her neck, stopping her movement and letting her fall to the tarmac below.

He faces me fully and I take an instinctual step back. He narrows his crimson red eyes at me, before giving me a menacing smile. My blood runs cold and I put my hands up in some pathetic gesture of surrender. I’m not even in control of myself. It’s my traitorous body that has the control, as it starts to give in to the flight reflex. I’m about to bolt, when an arm wraps around my waist and slams my back into the nearby brick wall.

Now I’m face to face with a vampire, something I never thought would be possible. Blinking rapidly, I look up at him with pure fear. It surprising to me that I feel fear. I never felt fear when I tried to kill myself, just conviction in my actions. It felt right to be doing that but this isn’t like that. I’m not in control of the situation and that has me scared out of my wits.